Pony's girlfriend
by Lovetoread75
Summary: I'm starting a series of stories about how each of the gang met his girlfriend. First up Ponyboy. Please read and review:)
1. Chapter 1

**Ok here's the first chappie, enjoy:)**

It was a sunny September day, and Ponyboy was sitting in a waiting room, waiting to be interviewed. After High School Pony enrolled in the University of Oklahoma, in Oklahoma City deciding to go into journalism. He loved writing and being a journalist would help him bring certain stories to people's attention. Maybe even things like rivalry with socs, or telling people not to judge a person by how much grease he puts in his hair. Pony didn't have to decide what he was going into for two more years, but he was sure he wanted to do journalism.

He applied for a spot on the university newspaper team, which was a big deal. A week earlier he submitted a writing piece and now he was waiting to be interviewed by the head of writhing department and chief editor for the paper.

He was nervous, running the possible scenarios of what he thought they would ask and what he would say. There were a few other people in the waiting room applying for the same thing.

Pony was tired of waiting, and he felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Finally his name was called. He wiped his hands on his shirt, because he knew he was going to shake their hands and his palms were sweaty.

"Hi, I'm Mrs. Roberts," the woman greeted him and held out her hand. She was tall, looked well into her fifties and had gray hair which she was wearing in a bun. At the moment she had a friendly smile on her face. "And this is Jenna," Mrs. Roberts said, "She's the head of our paper team." There was a girl in the room, who looked a year or two older than Pony, and she held out her hand too. She had light blond hair and big grey eyes. Cute Pony thought, but remembered that he was there for a purpose and not to get distracted by her looks.

"So Ponyboy," Mrs. Roberts smiled slightly at the mention of his name, "Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself." Pony didn't like this question even though he expected it.

"Well," he started, "I am from Tulsa and I live with my two older brothers since my parents died in a car crash." That was brief but he didn't know what else to say.

"I'm so sorry," Mrs. Roberts said,

"Me too." Jenna added.

"It's ok." Pony replied

"So why do you want to be on the team for our paper?" Mrs. Roberts asked next.

"Well, I've always liked writing and reading, and I am planning to go into journalism and this would help me bring important stories to people's attention and writing articles for the university newspaper would be a good start for that." Mrs. Roberts was impressed Pony could tell. Jenna on the other hand wasn't. The look in her eyes was that of boredom and indifference like she'd seen and heard things like that many times before.

"You graduated High School a year early is that so?" Mrs. Roberts asked.

Pony replied that he did, and explained that he was put up a grade in middle school.

"Ok," Mrs. Roberts said, "that's all for now. It was nice meeting you Ponyboy, we will call you with our decision." So that was it, Pony thought. It wasn't so bad. He didn't like though how they asked if he graduated High School early, maybe they would think he was too young to be on the team. Well, there was nothing he could do now, but wait.

When Pony got back to his dorm he already had a message from Darry and Soda who were asking how the interview went and if he got the spot on the paper team. So he called them back telling them what happened at the interview and explaining that he had to wait a few days before they call him with the result.

"I'm sure you'll get it," Soda assured him, "your writing piece was amazing." Pony read his writing piece to both Soda and Darry in order to get their opinions. And even though they weren't ideal audience for his writing since Darry only understood facts and Soda never cracked a book open, it was all he got, and he had to be content with that. His writing piece was about storm chasers in Oklahoma.

On Thursday Pony was studying for his science class when the phone rang. It was a needed distraction. Pony didn't like science to say the least, but it was required as part of the program that every freshman takes one science class.

"Hello," Pony answered the phone.

"Hi, may I speak to Ponyboy Curtis,"

"This is he."

"Hi, Ponyboy how are you doing? This is Mrs. Roberts."

"I'm fine thank you and how are you?"

"I'm fine too. I'm calling to tell you that you got a spot on the team for the paper, congratulations."

"Thank you very much, I appreciate it. You won't regret your decision."

"The first meeting is this Monday at six p.m. at the student center."

"Thanks again."

"Bye now."

Pony felt great. He was really happy. His science homework forgotten he called Darry and Soda to tell them the news.

"I told you you were going to get it" Soda laughed then gave the phone to Darry.

"I'm really happy for you buddy," Darry said.

Darry and Pony got along much better these days. Pony was older, and Darry didn't treat him like a little kid anymore. He showed him respect and gave him some space, and Pony appreciated that. He was really glad when Pony enrolled at the University. It was Darry's dream to see Pony go further than he himself could afford.

So on Monday at 6:05 Pony was at the student center. He walked in, and realized that they had already started. He apologized for being a little late and got an annoyed look from Jenna followed by "it's ok, but try to be on time next time." Jeez it was only 5 minutes he thought, but of course he didn't say anything, and took a seat.

"I'm Ricky," the guy next to him said, "I'm the photographer. What about you?"

"I'm on the writing staff. My name is Ponyboy." Ricky looked at him weird.

"That your real name?"

"It is." Pony said annoyed, he hated to explain about his name to each new person he met. Ricky shrugged his shoulders and said that he didn't mean to offend Pony, and Pony said that it was ok and he was not offended. They stopped talking and started listening. Everybody was calling out ideas what to write about in the first issue of the paper this year.

Pony looked around and realized by the way people were acting that they knew each other well and they've been on the team for the paper for a year or more. He was the only freshman on the team.

"We should write about cafeteria food." the guy sitting next to Jenna said.

"We should write about how expensive students' rooms are and how tiny they are," Ricky offered. Jenna wrote that down in her notepad.

"That's a good idea Ricky," she said.

Pony felt the pressure to offer an idea to show that he's not just some freshman who doesn't have any ideas and doesn't deserve to be on the team. "How about we write an article about all the student clubs." Pony offered.

"Um…, I don't know about that," Jenna wrinkled her nose and turned her attention to another guy who was raising his hand.

"Nelson," she prompted.

"We should write about sports teams," he said.

"Good idea." she approved.

"How about we write about the program that teaches students how to start a business, I heard it's really good." Pony said. He was trying desperately to show that he had ideas and he was there for a reason.

"Maybe not." Jenna said and turned her attention to a girl sitting next to her.

"Nicky." she said.

"What about study abroad program?" Nicky said.

"Great idea." Jenna wrote in her notepad.

Pony started to get the idea that she was ignoring his ideas on purpose and she was making it clear that she was only tolerating him because Mrs. Roberts decided to make him part of the team.

"What about writing about Strawberry Festival?" Pony offered. Strawberry Festival was the festival that was held every Fall. Different bands were invited, there was a fair and people from the neighborhood restaurants and diners were invited to serve food at the festival. It was clearly a good idea to cover the festival in the paper, but Jenna shrugged – "I don't' know about that, shouldn't we cover it after the festival not before?" Pony realized that she definitely was dodging his ideas on purpose. Even though the other members of the team agreed that writing about Strawberry Festival beforehand was a good idea. Letting people know what bands were invited and what activities were scheduled, but Jenna didn't write it in her notepad.

Pony was caught off guard. He didn't know what to do, why was she ignoring him? Was she trying to show who's the boss and, that since he was new and a freshman he had no voice and no say whatsoever in what was going on with the paper. He was trying to think desperately of an idea she wouldn't be able to dodge. He thought of a flier he'd seen in the cafeteria – battle of the bands. It was scheduled in two days and it clearly needed coverage in the school paper. "Battle of the bands," Pony almost yelled. "We should write about the battle of the bands." Everybody on the team agreed with Pony so Jenna was not able to dodge it. Pony felt like he won this one, but he was still upset that she had something against him just because he was new and a freshman. A few people suggested a few more ideas, and then Jenna started assigning who would write about what.

Since Pony was the one who suggested writing about the battle of the bands he thought she was going to assign that to him. But instead she assigned it to Victor, who was a junior, and it was his third year working on the paper. When it was turn to give Pony the assignment she didn't even look up at him from her notepad.

"You'll cover the students' rooms situation," she said and then quickly moved to the next person.

Pony was annoyed and upset about the whole situation. This is not the head start he was hoping to get. What was her problem he thought, she was rude and conceited. Some of the other people on the team were not friendly either. The team was seven people including Jenna, but only three asked Pony what his name was and introduced themselves. The others didn't bother, and acted like he didn't exist.

After the meeting Pony was more that flustered. Him and Ricky went to get dinner together. "What's her deal?" Pony asked about Jenna, "She was ignoring my ideas on purpose."

"Oh she is a little bossy." Ricky agreed, "She has a novel published already so I guess she feels like a big shot or something, but overall she's ok once you get to know her better."

"I sure hope so." Pony replied.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok chapter 2 is up. Please enjoy:)**

The next day Pony went to interview students about their rooms. He called Ricky, and asked him to take pictures of students' rooms, which were tiny just fitting a desk and a bed. Ricky agreed, and Pony wrote the article in half an hour. He found this assignment extremely easy and extremely boring. The battle of the bands was scheduled for the next day. Pony was going to attend as a spectator even if he wasn't writing an article about it. It was from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. Pony was not going alone. He was going with his roommate Jeff.

The battle of the bands was really great, and Pony was glad he went. All the bands were from students of the University, and they were really talented. Pony was even a little jealous. He wished he could play an instrument the way they did. He played piano a little, something his mother taught him when he was younger but he didn't pursue it any further.

The next morning Pony and Jeff were still talking about the battle of the bands and how great it was. Pony was itching to write about it, to get his opinion on what bands were the best and his overall review of the event. He was bumming out that he didn't get that assignment. He sat down at his desk and wrote the article anyway. He praised the bands he liked and criticized the ones he didn't. He described the crowd's reaction and the overall atmosphere at the place. He reread the article and thought it was g good piece of writing. Now he was debating if he should bring it to the next team meeting. He thought maybe they'd consider publishing it, but the way Jenna was reacting to his ideas last time he thought he had a slim chance. All the same he decided to bring the article to the next meeting. Before going he showed it to Ricky, and he said it was really good and he should definitely show it to the team. Ricky was at the battle also. He shot the pictures for Victor's article.

The meeting was the next day. Everybody gathered at the student center, and this time Pony wasn't late. Soon after he showed up Jenna walked into the room. She was wearing a silk white blouse and a black pencil skirt and she wore her hair down. In spite of himself Pony noted that she was really beautiful.

Soon they started the meeting. Nicky read her article about study abroad program, and everybody gave their opinions on what they thought should be added or taken away from the article. Then a few other people read their articles. Soon enough it was Pony's turn to read his article abut how expensive students' rooms were and how tiny they were. He did, and got approval from his team members. Jenna's face though showed no emotion, and she didn't give her opinion on the article one way or another. When he finished with the article Pony cleared his throat and said "I know this wasn't my assignment, but I also wrote about the battle of the bands. And if you don't mind I'd like to read it and maybe you can consider publishing it."

"That won't be necessary," Jenna cut him off, "we have Victor who was assigned to cover the battle of the bands. Victor can you read your article please." He did, and it was pretty dull and didn't show what was going on at the event nor did it show the mood and atmosphere among the bands and the fans. Jenna was pretty disappointed you could see it in her facial expression, but she didn't say anything. Victor was a junior and one of her favorites on the team.

They were about to go on to the next person when Ricky said all of the sudden "let Ponyboy read his article." Jenna was going to refuse that request, but Nicky and few others said they'd like to hear Pony's article, and Jenna had no choice but to let t him read it.

It was obvious that it was much better than Victor's and Pony saw in the corner of his eye Victor glaring at him. Great, Pony thought, second day on the team and he already made an enemy. Maybe, he thought, he shouldn't have read his article or even wrote it. Maybe he should've let it go this time. Jenna wrinkled her nose and was going to dismiss his article when Nicky said "I like his better."

"Me too." Ricky said. Then a few others joined and said that Pony's article was better. Victor's face turned red.

"We should publish his," Nicky insisted. The others agreed, and Jenna had to give in under the pressure and agree. It was clear she didn't want to publish Pony's article, but the team members insisted and so she had no choice. Pony was happy and proud that his article was being published even though he realized that Victor wouldn't like him after this, but all the other team members liked his article and insisted that it should be published so overall it was a good start.

After the meeting Pony went straight to the gym. He was going almost every day these days and was working out. He remembered how when he was still in High School everybody was saying that he was scrawny and he didn't want that to continue in college.

At around 9:30 p.m. he left the gym and was walking towards his dormitory. It was already dark outside, and the street was empty. As he approached the entrance to his dorm, he saw three figures separate from the shadow of the wall and walking towards him. At first he didn't even realize they were walking to him. He just thought they were walking in that direction, but when they were only a few feet away Pony realized what was about to happen, he recognized one of the guys being Victor.

"So you are a smart alec aren't you?" Victor said through clenched teeth.

Pony noticed that Victor was wearing black leather gloves. Before Pony was able to think of a smart remark to reply to Victor, Victor raised one of his hands and hit Pony. He was aiming for the head but got the shoulder. When Victor's hand connected to Pony's shoulder, Pony realized that under the glove Victor had a metal bar - the ones that gang members usually have. He'd seen Tim Sheppard use it one time.

The pain from the metal bar hitting Pony's shoulder was excruciating, but he was glad Victor didn't get his head. Pony gritted his teeth to suppress a scream and lashed out at Victor with all his strength. It was no use though – there were three of them. The next blow Pony received was in his stomach and then when he bent down from the pain Victor kept hitting him on the shoulders with that metal bar inside his glove. Finally he aimed for the head and was successful. Pony took a few steps back and fell to the ground. He closed his eyes and thought he was going to pass out. He heard Victor and his friends laughing. They were leaving he thought.

Finally gathering all his strength Pony was able to get up and get to the elevator then get to his room. He opened the door and almost fell inside. Jeff rushed to help him. "What happened to you, did you get mugged?" Pony was in no condition to explain what happened he stumbled to the bathroom to wash up. He washed his face revealing the mark under his eye and a busted lip.


	3. Chapter 3

**Quick update - enjoy, big thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited**

A few weeks passed by. The first issue of the paper was a success. They had a lot of letters and phone calls from fans. A few band members called thanking for the article about the battle of the bands. The paper was once a week and Pony's next assignment was to write about the Art department and the exhibits going on on campus. He actually liked this one and didn't complain. Just like his first article this one was a success as well, but Jenna was still giving him a cold shoulder. She hardly noticed him and only talked to him to give his assignment. Pony was really annoyed by this treatment but at least he made good friends with Ricky the photographer and Nicky, who were by the way, dating.

Around Thanksgiving the writing department was throwing a party. They did it a little early because most students would be going home for the holidays. Pony was going home to Tulsa for the holidays but he didn't know what to do about this party. He didn't have a date and he didn't feel like going, but everyone from the team was going and he felt it would be rude not to go. So he decided to go without a date. He didn't know what to wear to that either. It wasn't formal so at least he didn't have to buy a tuxedo or anything, but it was dressy and he didn't have anything like that. He hated shopping but he had no choice. At least he had the money - he got a part time job at the local bookstore which paid decent. He decided to go simple so he bought a white button down shirt and black trousers.

The party was in the auditorium at the student center. It was a huge room and it was beautifully decorated. There were balloons on the walls and the ceiling, decorative pumpkins, a huge banner saying Happy Thanksgiving and candles placed in small decorative pumpkins.

Pony walked in and stopped awkwardly by the door. It appeared that he was the only one without a date. Jenna wasn't there yet. Mrs. Roberts appeared it seemed out of nowhere and greeted him, "Hi Ponyboy I'm glad you could make it, have fun." Have fun he thought - easier said than done.

Everybody was dancing with their partners. Pony went to get punch just to be doing something and not just stand pathetically by the wall. In the corner of the eye he noticed Jenna entering the auditorium. She was wearing a blue dress that was just above her knee. She looked really cute. Pony realized that she didn't have a date either. That's odd he thought she, he was sure, wouldn't have a problem getting a date. She looked around and proceeded to sit at one of the tables.

The band started playing a slow song and everyone was dancing with their dates. Before Pony knew what was going on he saw Mrs. Roberts strolling in his direction.

"Hey Ponyboy," she said, "You look bored are you having fun?"

"I'm fine," he replied, "please don't worry about me."

"You are not dancing." she stated the obvious. "Why don't you ask Jenna for a dance?"Pony almost snorted. That was one thing he didn't want to do, and he was sure if he did ask her she would act like he didn't even exist. Pony and Mrs. Roberts were standing really close to the table where Jenna was sitting and she overheard what Mrs. Roberts was saying. After that Pony thought it would be rude not to ask her. It would look like he was disrespecting her or had something against her. His position at the paper was at stake and he already just made it by the skin of his teeth. So he walked up to where Jenna was sitting, cleared his throat and said "would you like to dance?" She seemed hesitant for a moment and Pony braced himself to hear some sarcastic comment, but to his surprise she agreed too eagerly. He realized then she didn't want to just sit there all alone, while everybody was dancing, it was embarrassing.

They started dancing in silence. "So why don't you have a date?" she finally asked. Pony was caught off guard. "I'm…um I'm just not seeing anyone at the moment. What about you?"

"I just broke up with my boyfriend two days ago," she replied and there was sadness in her eyes. She seemed a little different from the snotty and bossy her that he saw during the team meetings. "Oh," is all Pony said. He was curious as to what happened, but didn't want to pry.

So they kept dancing in silence, when the door suddenly opened, and a guy walked in. He was wearing a button down shirt and a beige sweater over it and black slacks "Oh my God!" Jenna gasped, and before Pony realized what was happening the guy was next to him.

"You are dancing with my woman?" he said through clenched teeth.

"Roy please," Jenna said, "please we broke up remember."

"We didn't break up," he replied, "we just had a fight."

"No Roy listen to me it's over."

"Why?" he sounded mad "you are doing this one over here?" Jenna's face turned red, and before Pony could even say anything at all he was punched in the face.

Roy's fist sent Pony flying. The guy was really big and was a few years older. Pony felt adrenaline rush, he wouldn't be defeated even if he didn't really have anything going on with Jenna. He quickly got back to his feet and ran and attacked Roy full force.

"Mrs. Roberts," Jenna screamed, "call security."

Roy was now punching Pony in the shoulders and stomach but Pony attacked him, grabbed him around the waist and was punching his shoulders too. Ricky had to pull him off of Roy, then security walked in and escorted Roy out of the building.

"Oh, my God! Are you ok Ponyboy?" Jenna said, and she looked really concerned, she felt it was her fault Pony could tell.

"Here," she gave him a paper towel, "your face is bleeding." He wiped his face, "Can we finish the dance?" he said, and her facial expression changed to surprise. "You want to dance after this?" She asked.

"Sure." Pony replied smiling, and she smiled a little.

"Ok," she said, and they started dancing again.

"I'm so sorry," she said again, "Roy and I… we were going out for 3 years. I guess it's hard for him to accept that it's over."

"What happened?" Pony asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

"Well," she said, "I just realized I wasn't in love. You see I'm the oldest in my family. I have 2 younger brothers. I had to grow up fast and I kind of didn't have a childhood. I always had to help out with the younger ones. With Roy it was different. I was the youngest. He treated me well and made me feel appreciated and gave me presents and for a while it was ok, but I just wasn't in love. What about you? Why don't you have a date?" Pony felt awkward but it was only fair that after telling him her story she'd like to know his.

"I just haven't met anyone special yet," he said. She smiled at that – "I see." Pony was listening to her awkwardly. They were two strangers, and she didn't even like him and now they were talking about some personal stuff.

"So are you going home for Thanksgiving?" Pony asked.

"I'm from Oklahoma City so home is here, but I won't get there until late."

"Why is that?"

"Well, I volunteer at the soup kitchen and Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times."

"Oh, I see," Pony said. He was impressed. So she was not cold hearted after all, he thought, if she was helping the homeless.

"I'll be going home to my brothers," Pony said. "My older brother Darry, he is kind of in the same situation as you. He's the oldest and when my parents passed away he had to take care of us."

The light in the room was dimmed – and then there was light from the candles and in this lighting Jenna looked beautiful and not guarded. So different from the snotty and bossy person that she appeared to be at the paper meetings. Pony found himself drawn to her and like he wanted to know who she really was.

"So," Pony asked then "what about Christmas break do you have any plans?" She sighed. "I'll be staying home, but I'd really like to go to New York City. It's been a dream of mine. I've seen pictures and post cards of New York City around Christmas time and it's absolutely beautiful."

"Why don't you go?" Pony asked.

"Money," she replied. "I work part time, and all the money is paying for school, but one day I'm definitely going to go," she said, "just not any time soon."

For the rest of the evening Pony was dancing and talking with Jenna. Once he looked at Ricky and he could've sworn Ricky winked at him. Pony hoped Ricky wasn't getting the wrong idea.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's another chappie, again thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited it means a lot**

They had two days off for Thanksgiving and as expected Pony went home to Tulsa. He really missed his brothers, but he also found himself wishing the off time was over so he could go back and see Jenna. He felt really confused about his feelings for her. On one hand he'd seen her as snotty, bossy person, but she was totally different at the party. She actually opened up and talked to him and she was really good looking too. He thought it be pretty crazy if he asked her out, but he decided to go for it.

The two days were over and Pony went back to Oklahoma City. He was wondering if Jenna was going to treat him differently at the team meeting now that they'd talked and everything. The next meeting was the day after. Jenna seemed a little nicer and she didn't dodge his ideas anymore. Pony gathered all his courage and was going to ask her out on a date after the meeting. However, to his surprise and disappointment he saw Roy, who showed up to pick her up. He took Jenna's hand and led her to the car. He was saying something to her Pony couldn't hear what, and she was giggling and twirling a strand of her hair around her finger. Pony realized she looked even more beautiful than ever.

Pony went to his dorm disappointed. He felt conflicted – part of him said he should ask her anyway and part of him said to just forget it. She never gave him her phone number, but he had a list of the phone numbers of all members of the team including Jenna's. He thought of what he was going to say to her and started dialing the number. Half way through he chickened out and pressed the receiver -what was he doing he thought then he started dialing again. She picked up right away.

"Hello?" Pony heard Jenna's voice.

"Hi Jenna,"

"Who is this?"

"It's me, Ponyboy."

"Oh hi Ponyboy," she sounded confused like she didn't know why he was calling. "Is everything ok?" she asked, "Can you make the meeting on Wednesday?"

Pony felt extremely stupid all of the sudden. "Yes, I can make the meeting," he said. All he heard was silence on the other side she was waiting for an explanation. "Listen," Pony cleared his throat, "I just wanted to ask you … if you'd go for a cup of coffee with me sometime?" Awkward silence then she said, "sorry Ponyboy you are a really nice guy but I've been talking to Roy and it looks like we are going to get back together." Pony cursed himself for calling. He knew she was talking to Roy why did he put himself on the spot like that. So Pony decided to just forget his feelings for Jenna since she was clearly getting back with Roy.

The next month was painful for Pony. He attended all the team meetings, but he could hardly concentrate - he was overpowered by his feelings for Jenna. He thought of asking her out again, but didn't because he knew she would say no. Finally he decided to resort to drastic measures. He decided to get the tickets to New York City and ask her to go with him. He had to pull all his savings to afford it.

Next Wednesday, right before the Christmas Break after the meeting Pony walked up to Jenna and said he needed to talk to her.

"What's the matter?" she asked, "you don't like your assignment?" Since the dance she was much easier on Pony and gave him decent assignments.

"No, my assignment is fine." he replied. She looked at him expectantly waiting for the explanation.

"I just got to give you something," he said and took out the ticket out of his pocket. "It's for the Christmas break." he clarified. At first she wasn't sure what it was, then realized it was a ticket. She looked at Pony question in her eyes.

"I can't take this" she said, "it's too much."

"You should get your dream now, you shouldn't have to wait, you are too good for that." He said. He saw how her eyes were shining looking at the ticket - she really wanted to go.

"You should go." Pony said, "I know you really want to."

"How can I thank you?" she asked.

"You can thank me by going with me," he took out his ticket.

"Ok, Pony I'll go with you, but I don't want to lead you on. I'm telling you right now we are going strictly as friends."

"Sure," Pony nodded, but deep down he hoped that during the trip he can change her mind and get her to go out with him. She wasn't in love with Roy she said it herself.


	5. Chapter 5

Finally it was the day of the trip. Pony and Jenna met up at the airport. They were flying into New York City, and there they were supposed to meet up with their tour guide and the group o of tourists. Jenna was dressed simple - just jeans and a black t-shirt but she had her hair down, and Pony couldn't help but notice how good looking she was. The trip was for a week and she had only a really small suitcase. "Let me help you with that," Pony offered.

"Oh it's ok it's not heavy," she replied.

The flight was part conversation and part awkward silence. It was late at night and after a while Jenna fell asleep in her seat with her head on Pony's shoulder. Pony held his breath. He realized more and more every minute how much he liked her. He tried not to move even a little bit so she wouldn't wake up.

Finally they arrived. Pony shook Jenna's arm slightly. She opened her eyes.

"We are here." Pony said. She looked around and realized her head was on his shoulder. She sat up quickly. "Sorry," she mumbled embarrassed.

"No problem." Pony smiled at her embarrassment.

They got out of the plane and went to baggage claim. After that they went to the area where the bus for their group was. They entered the bus and saw about ten people already there. They were greeted by a petite woman. "Hi I'm Mrs. Michaels I'll be your tour guide. "She was really petite, probably in her mid forties with short brown hair and glasses. She wore too much makeup Pony thought. He could see it even in the dark. She was wearing fake eyelashes, dark green eye shadow and a bright red lipstick.

"What are your names?" she asked. Pony told her their names, and she put a checkmark next to their names on the list that she was holding.

"That's everyone." she told the driver, "we can go now."

They drove to the hotel. Pony had never been out of Oklahoma never mind staying at the hotel. He had never had the money. He pulled together all his savings to be able to afford this trip. He entered the room and stopped in awe. It was late, but he didn't feel like going to sleep he was admiring the room. High ceilings, huge bed a desk made out of the good wood, closets, beautiful lights and a balcony.

He was on the 17th floor. Fridge with champagne in it, coffee maker, pantry with tea and coffee. Finally Pony felt tired and decided to go to sleep.

The next morning the alarm went off at 8 a.m. Pony turned it off, and was going to go back to sleep but then dragged himself up. They were supposed to meet the tour guide and the rest of the group at 9 a.m. He took a quick shower then went to the balcony and had his morning cigarette. The view was breathtaking. All the skyscrapers of Manhattan, including the MetLife building were visible. He grounded his cigarette and went downstairs for breakfast. Jenna was already there. "Hi ,"he said, "how'd you sleep?"

"Fine,"she replied and then added, "the room is so great." Pony nodded.

After breakfast they met up with the rest of the group. The first stop was Rockefeller Center. The place was beautiful. It was decorated with Christmas lights everywhere and right in front of it there was a humongous Christmas tree with ornaments, garlands and lights shining and a huge star on top, there were angel figure decorated with lights and the view was totally amazing.

The tour guide was telling them the history of Rockefeller center, which to tell the truth, both Pony and Jenna found a little boring, but they both were blown away by how beautiful the place was. After the tour guide was done with her story, everybody got one free hour to explore the place on their own.

Right behind the Christmas tree there was a pretty large skating rink. The music was playing, and people were skating, having tons of fun. It was pretty crowded.

"Do you skate?" Jenna asked Pony.

"No, not at all," he shook his head. He hadn't put the skates on since he was probably seven or eight.

"I think we should try it," Jenna said laughing. She looked so good, Pony thought. "Maybe you can try it and I'll just wait here."

"Oh, c'mon." she laughed again, "how often do you get to tell people that you were ice skating at the Rockefeller center."

"Ok," Pony agreed thinking what on earth he was doing.

The weather was great. It was chilly but not too cold. There was a nice breeze and it was snowing lightly. It wasn't the cold harsh snow that can be bad, but it was nice, fluffy, soft snow, the snowflakes that the wind was carrying around and then they landed softly onto the ground.

Pony and Jenna put the skates on. They walked to the rink, and Jenna went right in and started skating to the opposite side of the rink. Pony just stood there not daring to step on to the ice.

"C'mon," Jenna prompted. Pony noted that she was in a lighthearted mood and was really friendly towards him, which was a total turnaround from the way she was acting when he was just starting out with the paper. Here in this beautiful environment she let her guard down. She didn't need to be this tough, bossy girl that didn't care much for anything. She could be herself and fully enjoy what was going on.

Pony finally stepped on the ice. The minute he did his feet started going in different directions and he fell. Jenna laughed.

"Easy," she said, "here give me your hand." She grabbed his hand and pulled him up giggling the whole time. Then she stood behind and held his shoulders, while he gradually adjusted to the ice, taking small insecure steps. One by one gradually he started to get it, and Jenna let go of his shoulders. He started going on his own.

The music was playing and Jenna and Pony were going in a circle, soft snow landing on their hair and eyelashes. They were going with the crowd of other people but it felt like they were the only ones on the rink. Jenna took out her camera "here please take a picture of me." Pony did, and then she took a picture of him skating. Finally the hour was over, and they had to head back.

The next place they visited was Central Park. It was huge and beautiful. All the trees' branches were coated with snow and they looked spectacular. Some trees were decorated with colorful Christmas lights. As Jenna and Pony were walking they felt crispy, crunchy snow under their feet. The tour guide talked a little bit about Central Park and its history, and then again let everyone have one hour to explore the place on their own.

Pony and Jenna started walking, and then saw a line in the near distance. They walked up closer and saw that the line was to ride in a carriage which was led by a horse.

"Are you up for that?" Pony asked, and she smiled. She had a really nice smile Pony noted.

"Sure but do you think we have enough time the line is pretty long."

"I think we'll make it."

"Oh look there's another one." Pony looked to his left and saw another carriage. They rushed to it and asked to get a ride. The guy motioned for them to get in.

"Hi, I'm Robert," he said, "what are your love birds' names?" Pony looked at Jenna and she was blushing a little, but she didn't correct the guy, didn't tell him that they weren't a couple, and Pony took it as a good sign.

"I'm Jenna," she said simply.

"And I'm Ponyboy," Pony said. The guy looked at him weird, but didn't say anything, didn't ask him about his name. Pony guessed they were used to all kinds of weird things in New York.

The ride was really nice. It was over too soon. Jenna took out her camera again. "Here I'll take a picture of you two together." the guy offered. Jenna blushed again but gave him the camera. She sat next to Pony awkwardly.

"Smile" the guy prompted so both Pony and Jenna smiled as he took the picture.

They went to a few more places and then Mrs. Michaels let them go. In the evening Pony and Jenna went to a café not far from the hotel. They got some coffee and cakes. Pony insisted on paying even though Jenna said it was not necessary. They talked, sharing their impressions from what they've seen so far. Jenna seemed the most relaxed and nice since Pony knew her. She seemed to let her guard down. Again Pony took it as a good sign. He could only hope that maybe she could see him as more than a friend.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day they went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and then to China Town. The guide was telling them how Chinese immigrants made New York City their home and achieved a better life in New York than in their home country. Jenna seemed really interested in their stories. Then as always Mrs. Michaels gave them one hour to explore the place on their own. Pony and Jenna went into a cozy café and got coffee and some Chinese pastry.

"New York is such a place of opportunity," Jenna said while taking a bite of her cake. Pony nodded in agreement.

"I think I'm going to move here after I graduate," she said, "I'm going to do something with my life. I'm not going to be like those low class losers that lead their low lives. They don't ever amount to anything in their lives. They are drunks and good for nothings and it's their own fault that their lives are a joke." Pony felt his face turn red with anger. And that's, he thought, when they just finally started getting along. He was deeply offended by what she said.

"You don't know shit" he almost yelled, moving his cup aside. "I happened to be one of those low class ones as you call them. Try starting out with no money for the everyday stuff struggling to pay electricity or gas. And if they are drunks it's simply because they don't know better and there is nothing good in their lives so they turn to drinking. And some of them do achieve something in their lives. Do you know how hard it is to open a joint on our side of town yet they do it, putting all their life savings into it. My older brother is a carpenter he's not a low life good for nothing and my other brother is a mechanic. My friend is a jockey and he is not a low life good for nothing." Pony thought of Curly and his brother, but even they were ok, they weren't losers and they weren't drunks.

"I didn't mean to offend you," she said, "but that's just how things are."

"No," he replied, "that's just how you see things, but that's not how they **are**." Then he got up, threw a ten dollar bill on the table, turned around and just left. Just like that. He couldn't believe her ignorance and arrogance, he was mad alright. He would except to hear something like this from a soc, but from what Ricky told him Jenna was middle class and he expected her to know better, but apparently that wasn't the case.

It was time to get back to the group, and Pony went directly there. Jenna was already there, but he ignored her. She looked like that was just fine by her, and was talking to one of the group members.

The rest of the day they continued visiting different landmarks in New York. Pony however, wasn't enjoying it. He didn't talk to Jenna or to anybody for that matter, and sat alone all the way in the back on the bus. The thing was he liked Jenna and he couldn't help it and think that out of all people she had to have such a low opinion about where he was from. It hurt, it hurt really badly.

The next few days went by, and Pony and Jenna weren't talking to each other. Needless to say Pony was not enjoying sightseeing. He was miserable. This was his first real trip away from home and out of all places it was New York City. He was supposed to enjoy it, but he simply couldn't. He was hoping this trip would bring him and Jenna closer together, he was hoping to ask her out, and at first it seemed that she was starting to like him too, but now all was lost.

On the last day of the trip they were visiting Empire State Building. They got all the way to the top and were looking over the city. Jenna was taking pictures, and Pony was observing her in the corner of his eye. She seemed a little out of it though like she was trying to have a good time but she was upset. Pony felt bad about his outburst. So she said some stuff that she didn't really know anything about. He should've tried explaining it to her rather than just get mad. He walked up closer and tapped her on the shoulder from behind. She turned around and looked him right in the eyes question in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I'm a jerk, so you got some stuff wrong that's not a reason for me to get mad. I'm not mad right now are you?"

"I'm not mad either," she said, quietly "and I'm sorry too. You are right I didn't know what I was talking about. I don't actually know anybody from the poor side of town so I can't really judge them." She smiled, "you are the first one and you should be so proud of yourself." She smiled again and walked up closer, opening her arms for a hug. Pony smiled and went in for a hug, but then couldn't help it but started kissing her. At first she pulled away and there was this scared look on her face, but then she got closer and tilted her head and started kissing him back.

 **So that's Pony's story. Next up is Dallas – check it out. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, followed or favorited.**


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